Meeting a Stranger

"Bloody knee socks of my King father..." I cursed.

Normally, I would never curse, especially in public. But, here I was, standing in a sky-less world, dark and forbidding. I think I could be forgiven for slandering the Saule Kingdom's monarch.

I looked around me and saw where I had come flying from. It looked like a normal brick wall. I seemed to have been transported to an empty dark street, and although there were no trash, I still kept having the feeling that it was dirty.

Walking cautiously towards the black bricked wall, I placed a gloved hand on it, thinking I would pass right through. I didn't.

I tried from several areas and tried different ways of passing. I inserted varying amounts of force, I knocked on some bricks, I even tried begging at the wall, thinking it was some kind of magical, sentient monster. But, no. As far as I was concerned, it was just a normal brick wall.

'Did I perhaps transport myself unknowingly with my magic?' I wondered, but I was highly doubtful. Getting such great powers in my second chance in life seems a bit too far-fetched. So, I simply believed that it was the wall's fault.

However, because I was too restless to stay put, I decided to walk around and explore the new area. It probably won't hurt, and I just might ask around for an exit. I also had a slight inkling about what type of place this was. After all, there were several places like this in my Kingdom, as well.

After just a few minutes of walking around, I knew I had guessed correctly. I had stumbled into a Dark Market.

I have never been more thankful towards my nanny as I was now. Earlier in the day, she had repeatedly urged for me to wear a nondescript coat with a large hood over my dress. I hadn't thought it would matter to have my face seen during our walk, as I knew very few people even know of the face of the Saule Kingdom's princess. But because Miss Hestia was very adamant about it, I simply obeyed her wishes.

So, now, I could freely roam Lunaris City's Dark Market with ease. Who knows what kinds of people were even here? If they saw a well-dressed five-year-old walking around alone, I might just be whisked off to become a slave, or worse.

Lost in thought while going with the flow of briskly walking people, I accidentally bumped into someone. Or, looking at the flow of traffic, it would be more accurate to say that they bumped into me.

By they, I mean three incredibly large, hairless and shirtless men, with the meanest of glares.

I had the urge to curse my father again.

"... Did you just get in our way, you midget?" the bald man in the center spat at me. I desperately tugged my hood lower.

"I'm terribly sorry, sirs. I didn't see you there." I tried my hardest to make my voice sound deeper, to no avail, of course.

"Bah! You sound like a little child!" another bald man said, followed by the other, "Cheh, if ya didun see us even by how big w're, den I s'pose we didun see ya either!"

I didn't really understand the last guy, so I could only bow in apology.

Then, before I could even scream a complaint, the first guy, in all of his shirtless glory, had quickly carried me off the ground by the fronts of my robe. I could only thrash my legs in the air as he finally had a good look at my face. "Let's see who ya think you a-!!!"

'OH NO!' I could only think, and then I wondered if I could possibly conjure another Fire Ball without fainting...

I saw the man's dark-toned face looking at mine, first twitching in surprise and then gradually turning into the most delighted expression; one that could make grown men nervous. He smiled at me with his yellowing teeth as though I was a free golden nugget.

I let out a shaky laugh, and mumbled, "Solus bless my Papa's tiny Pudenda..."

Just as I started getting really desperate and I still wasn't feeling any familiar magical energy forming inside me, I heard a boyish shout from right under us.

"OH! There's an Amm Soldier walking down this street!" the boy shouted, gesturing to no one in particular.

And just like that, as though it was a planned signal, the many shoppers fled into the shadows and the nasty-looking merchants hid some of their wares and started showing off more valuable items. All this happened in only a few seconds.

Of course, we were not exempted. The three dark-skinned men cursed and dropped me carelessly on the ground. Before long, the only shoppers in the street were me and the boy.

I looked up at him curiously while I massaged my knocked-up knees. He was covered up in a dark robe like mine, and guessing from his short stature and high voice, he probably hadn't gone through puberty yet.

'What's a kid doing in the Dark Market?' I thought.

I mean, I couldn't really judge, but I still wondered. Then, he approached me and offered me a hand. "We should really hurry up and leave. The people will soon realize that I lied."

My eyes grew wide. "So, that... Ummm Soldier isn't coming?"

I had accepted his help and I was now quickly dusting my back side. He turned to look at me with curious eyes. I found that he looked really handsome...

"Amm Soldier. You know, the Emperor's secret knives?" he told me as he easily grabbed my hands and dragged me away.

"... Oh, yeah. Them. How could I forget?" I only looked away as we ran from the empty street, where a couple of merchants had already caught on and had started shouting complains at us.

Soon, we had arrived at a relatively crowded street. Not as crowded as the previous one had been, but still quite full enough that our small shapes could easily blend in.

"So, what brings a little lady to the Moon City's infamous Black Caves?" he asked me quietly, still holding my hand, his steps light and easy-going.

"... How'd you even know I was a girl, though?" I asked him back, making sure to keep my voice down.

He than glanced back at me, raising his thick, dark eyebrows. "Who couldn't tell? I knew almost at once, even with your face all hooded."

I looked at him suspiciously. "... Then, why are you here? You don't even look ten."

He laughed merrily, high and tinkling to the ears. "Unlike you, I know the area. Anyway, I sneaked out and earned myself some time to buy some things."

I raised a brow. "Did you just escape from your master?"

I did wonder if he was a restless, young apprentice who had escaped from the toils of work. His callused hands were hints of that, and I doubted any noble child could act so spontaneously and know the streets of a Dark Market.

He smirked at my question. "Do you only ask questions back and not give answers, little lady?"

I don't know why but that made me flush in embarrassment. "Of course not! Why would I only know how to ask?"

"See! You just made a question yet again!" he remarked, his warm colored skin flushed in excitement. He pointed at me with wide eyes.

I glared at his smiling face. I grew annoyed by his perfect set of white teeth... "That was a rhetorical question! It doesn't count!"

He suddenly surprised me when he leaned his face closer to mine, close enough for me to see the cute little mole at the side of one of his chocolate-colored eyes. "Hmm... You don't look too old. I only learned about rhetorical questions a few months ago from my tutor. How old are you, little lady?"

I panicked a bit but I calmed down after seeing that my opponent was just a young boy. I huffed arrogantly. "Old enough to be smarter than escapist, young boys!"

He grinned at my comeback and we continued our walk along the busy street.

I finally had time to look around my surroundings. Aside from the fact that we seemed to be underground by the looks of the gigantic stalactites above us, and how some of the items for sale were creepy and weird-looking, the Dark Market, or what the boy called as the Black Cave, looked very much like the City's bustling market, probably right above us.

"I have to thank you for saving me back there," I told the boy in a small voice, pretending to stare with interest at a glass jar with a floating eyeball in it.

The boy gripped my hand tighter for a small moment, and said, "No worries. We should help out fellow children when in need, right? I swear that aside from the Nullies and the old, dying people, the most discriminated group is the young ones."

I was taken aback by that, not only because I heard the quite disrespectful term for magic-less people, but also because a young child would have a mature opinion like that.

"You think children are discriminated upon?" I asked him with great curiosity.

He nodded thoughtfully. "I mean, our words don't mean shack, and we always have to obey whatever the adults tell us, right? I don't think that's okay, especially because I know some very misguided adults."

I was shocked into silence for a small moment. Yet, although the boy did interest me, I knew I had to leave the Black Cave and search for my nanny, who was surely already worried down to her little toes.

"So, umm, can you perhaps guide me out of this Dark Market? I actually just accidentally... flew into here..." I muttered, wondering if I sounded credible at all.

"Dark Market?" the boy asked me while he held up a sharp knife with leather handles that seemed to be stained by... Is that blood? "I heard the people of Saule call places like these as that. Are you, perhaps, not from here, little lady?"

I mentally chided myself. Now this boy not only knew that I was lost, but he's also now aware that I'm an outsider. "... Yes. So, I do hope you can kindly tell me the direction of the exit."

He placed the knife down with such expert care, which made the long-bearded merchant disappointed, and made me gulp in nervousness. However, he only said, "Of course, I'll help you."

I couldn't help but smile with joy.

"... As long as you can pay the price."

My smile quickly turned into a frown. And seeing the boy look at me innocently, with an open palm held out to me, my frown transformed into a glare.

Such a cunning, little boy!